Divergent by Veronica Roth is a dystopian novel. It is categorized as a young adult science fiction . I chose this book because I have always shown particular interest in books involving utopias. I was really lost on what book i was going to choose until Goodreads came along with suggestions. It gives you a suggestion by offering you a various amount of genres and subject to your choice you receive a list of books under each category. It also takes into account the books you've previously ever liked or marked as a “to – read”. I went through numerous options narrowed it down to Divergent. It reminded me of the book Uglies considering the exemplification of human's flaws throughout both novels. If fits into the young adult science fiction because it is from the view of a young teenage girl and it’s meant to be easily relatable It is science fiction since it takes place in the near future and contains major social changes. For example the technology in the novel includes serums injected into the body to create controllable hallucinations on the mind. As for the social aspect, the community is set up in 5 different characteristics of humans such as; honest (Candor), brave (Dauntless), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), and Intelligent (Erudite). The novel leads you through the struggle of a teenage girl assimilating into her own faction or choosing a new path.
Summary
In the future Chicago, it is split up between 5 different Factions as the following; honest (Candor), brave (Dauntless), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), and Intelligent (Erudite). All the 16 year olds are required to take an aptitude test in order to reveal where they truly belong. When Beatrice Prior, raised in Abnegation, took this test her results came out inconclusive and her administrator told her she was Divergent. Divergence is the ability to be classified in more than one faction but for anyone to know other than herself could be very dangerous. The Choosing Ceremony is the point in which all the 15 year olds have the option to leave their faction and choose the faction they want to belong to. If anyone chooses a faction other than the one they were born, they are called faction transfers; they will be considered a traitor in their old home. In each and every faction they follow the idea of “Faction before Blood”. Without clear direction of which faction she truly belongs to, Beatrice decides her choices are between Dauntless and Abnegation. She has to decide between her family and their requirements and being who she really is. Beatrice deems herself not selfless enough to continue on in abnegation and claims “I am selfish. I am Brave”. Beatrice chooses Dauntless and rechristens herself Tris. Along with the daredevil tasks the Dauntless – initiates are required to fulfill, Tris still has to hide her divergence which could determine the life or death of her and her loved ones.
Themes
Control of information
The faction, Erudite, is known for their vast knowledge of every subjects and their more advanced technology. The Erudite are in control of the inner workings of the factions together. The Erudite hoard information throughout the book and see knowledge as the solution to all problems. In the process the Erudite have the ability to withhold whatever they choose. They were not always the source of problems. They steered from their original belief that the elimination of ignorance would rid the human mind or evil. Instead they became power hungry and plotted to destroy their community to reinstate themselves as leaders. The Erudite are smart enough to serums and simulations to control the other factions. They led battles without having to be present to witness them. The Erudite’s control of information could lead to their ultimate power.
Psychological manipulation
Jeanine Matthews, the novel’s antagonist and leader of the erudite, is the creator of the serum that alters the reality of others. The serum is able to project a hallucination of reality of her choice therefore; they select your enemies to be friends and your friends to be enemies. The Dauntless become the personal soldiers of the Erudite except for the few who are immune, the Divergent. Jeanine Matthews will not be satisfied until she has complete control over the community. The Erudite are forced to either create another serum to control all people or eliminate the Divergent completely.
Symbol
My symbols are ancient medallions and trinkets of the beginnings of the factions. They are all that is left from the factions other than the laws and beliefs. They are the only materials items that had preserved. They represent the original beliefs of each faction and the factions as a group’s purpose. They show the story of how the factions came to be and how that differs from how the factions are now. Each medallion embodies on faction and the key represents the faction as a whole and working together.
Character Analyst
The book consists of multiple characters but there are few main characters, Beatrice Prior, Tobias, and Jeanine Mathews are just a few of the main characters that play a large part in the story.
Beatrice “Tris” prior is the protagonist of the story and an Abnegation born but Dauntless initiate. She is 16 but looks very young. She is strong willed but dislikes showing weakness. She accepts her divergence at the end of Divergent. She claims “ I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent.” She is the daughter of Andrew and Natalie Prior. After Beatrice undergoes the Dauntless trials she receives hints from odd occurrences in the Dauntless facility that there is there is some form of revolt forming. Although she is quite brave, she, like anyone else, has fears. She has seven, to be particular, which is one of the lowest numbers of fears any Dauntless has ever gotten, next to Tobias' four fears. Her most distinguished trait appears to be bravery. Tris is extremely brave, from being the first jumper to ranking first in the initiation.
Jeanine Matthews is the antagonist and the only representative of the Erudite therefore there is no one to undermine her or her abilities. She is an Erudite born and continues to run the faction. She is easily the most powerful member of the Erudite and hopes to become the leader of all the factions. Her plan is to overrun the Abnegation and forcing the Dauntless to betray them. Her first movement of action is to soil the Abnegation’s reputation and make the other faction lose faith in their leadership. Jeanine Matthews feels “fear is more powerful than pain” and uses everyone’s personals fears against. She designed the simulations consequently she has the list of each fear every person that has been in a simulation.
Tobias Eaton, Four, is the son of Evelyn and Marcus Eaton. HIs mother left Marcus after having an affair, he eventually falls victim to his father's cruelty and uncontrolled anger He is the instructor of the transfer initiates and is the love interest of Beatrice "Tris" Prior. During his time the fear landscape was the first thing initiates went through when they arrived at the Dauntless compound. During his fear landscape, Tobias had only four fears, the least amount of fears on record for a Dauntless initiate, therefore he was nicknamed Four. He ranked first by the end of the initiation, but declined the position of a Dauntless leader.
5 New or Unusual Words
The names and definitions of the Factions are necessary to understand the book. The name of the faction ultimately defines the characteristics of the people within the faction. Therefore, you can choose to learn the definition of the word or assume by the characters what each word means.
Abnegation – the sacrifice of personal needs for others or being selfless
Erudite - knowledgeable, well educated, or acquired intelligence.
Candor – forthright, openness, having no secrets, or outspoken.
Amity – friendliness, peace, having good relations or harmony
Dauntless – fearless, resolute, or determined.
Simulation – “He is Divergent. He can fight this simulation. Any simulation.” (477.) the technique of representing the real world by a computer program or hallucinations to make you believe a reality is something else.
Divergent – “people who get this kind of result are…. are called Divergent”(22.) to be different or develop in different directions
Similar Works
Divergent is similar to Uglies because of the way the government in both books are structured and their governments concealment of information. The leaders of Uglies hold very large amounts of information from the citizens. They conceal the fact that the cures they perform on people actually lead to brain damage and other diseases. While in Divergent the leaders are hold back the information that the serums are for mind control and used to make people the Erudite’s personal puppets. The Erudites as well the government in Uglies come to their downfall by a female leader unaware of their strengths and abilities.
Secondly, Divergent is similar to the Maze Runner series. It is in evident until the second book in the trilogy of Divergent but the factions were set up as a safe hope for the future because the outside humans had already fallen to war and mass terror. The Maze runner is about this group of highly intelligent kids set up as an experiment and the rest of the world are relying on them. The people who put them in the trials were scientists trying to find a cure for the rest of the world by putting these kids through a series of trials. There is a mass disease spreading across their outer world and they are testing whether specific brain reactions cause the disease to disappear. Divergent and the Maze Runner show the exile of humans to test their reactions and their actions for a greater purpose of the world.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Alex Stanton
Genre
Divergent by Veronica Roth is a dystopian novel. It is categorized as a young adult science fiction . I chose this book because I have always shown particular interest in books involving utopias. I was really lost on what book i was going to choose until Goodreads came along with suggestions. It gives you a suggestion by offering you a various amount of genres and subject to your choice you receive a list of books under each category. It also takes into account the books you've previously ever liked or marked as a “to – read”. I went through numerous options narrowed it down to Divergent. It reminded me of the book Uglies considering the exemplification of human's flaws throughout both novels. If fits into the young adult science fiction because it is from the view of a young teenage girl and it’s meant to be easily relatable It is science fiction since it takes place in the near future and contains major social changes. For example the technology in the novel includes serums injected into the body to create controllable hallucinations on the mind. As for the social aspect, the community is set up in 5 different characteristics of humans such as; honest (Candor), brave (Dauntless), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), and Intelligent (Erudite). The novel leads you through the struggle of a teenage girl assimilating into her own faction or choosing a new path.
Summary
In the future Chicago, it is split up between 5 different Factions as the following; honest (Candor), brave (Dauntless), selfless (Abnegation), peaceful (Amity), and Intelligent (Erudite). All the 16 year olds are required to take an aptitude test in order to reveal where they truly belong. When Beatrice Prior, raised in Abnegation, took this test her results came out inconclusive and her administrator told her she was Divergent. Divergence is the ability to be classified in more than one faction but for anyone to know other than herself could be very dangerous. The Choosing Ceremony is the point in which all the 15 year olds have the option to leave their faction and choose the faction they want to belong to. If anyone chooses a faction other than the one they were born, they are called faction transfers; they will be considered a traitor in their old home. In each and every faction they follow the idea of “Faction before Blood”. Without clear direction of which faction she truly belongs to, Beatrice decides her choices are between Dauntless and Abnegation. She has to decide between her family and their requirements and being who she really is. Beatrice deems herself not selfless enough to continue on in abnegation and claims “I am selfish. I am Brave”. Beatrice chooses Dauntless and rechristens herself Tris. Along with the daredevil tasks the Dauntless – initiates are required to fulfill, Tris still has to hide her divergence which could determine the life or death of her and her loved ones.
Themes
Control of information
The faction, Erudite, is known for their vast knowledge of every subjects and their more advanced technology. The Erudite are in control of the inner workings of the factions together. The Erudite hoard information throughout the book and see knowledge as the solution to all problems. In the process the Erudite have the ability to withhold whatever they choose. They were not always the source of problems. They steered from their original belief that the elimination of ignorance would rid the human mind or evil. Instead they became power hungry and plotted to destroy their community to reinstate themselves as leaders. The Erudite are smart enough to serums and simulations to control the other factions. They led battles without having to be present to witness them. The Erudite’s control of information could lead to their ultimate power.
Psychological manipulation
Jeanine Matthews, the novel’s antagonist and leader of the erudite, is the creator of the serum that alters the reality of others. The serum is able to project a hallucination of reality of her choice therefore; they select your enemies to be friends and your friends to be enemies. The Dauntless become the personal soldiers of the Erudite except for the few who are immune, the Divergent. Jeanine Matthews will not be satisfied until she has complete control over the community. The Erudite are forced to either create another serum to control all people or eliminate the Divergent completely.
Symbol
My symbols are ancient medallions and trinkets of the beginnings of the factions. They are all that is left from the factions other than the laws and beliefs. They are the only materials items that had preserved. They represent the original beliefs of each faction and the factions as a group’s purpose. They show the story of how the factions came to be and how that differs from how the factions are now. Each medallion embodies on faction and the key represents the faction as a whole and working together.
Character Analyst
The book consists of multiple characters but there are few main characters, Beatrice Prior, Tobias, and Jeanine Mathews are just a few of the main characters that play a large part in the story.
Beatrice “Tris” prior is the protagonist of the story and an Abnegation born but Dauntless initiate. She is 16 but looks very young. She is strong willed but dislikes showing weakness. She accepts her divergence at the end of Divergent. She claims “ I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent.” She is the daughter of Andrew and Natalie Prior. After Beatrice undergoes the Dauntless trials she receives hints from odd occurrences in the Dauntless facility that there is there is some form of revolt forming. Although she is quite brave, she, like anyone else, has fears. She has seven, to be particular, which is one of the lowest numbers of fears any Dauntless has ever gotten, next to Tobias' four fears. Her most distinguished trait appears to be bravery. Tris is extremely brave, from being the first jumper to ranking first in the initiation.
Jeanine Matthews is the antagonist and the only representative of the Erudite therefore there is no one to undermine her or her abilities. She is an Erudite born and continues to run the faction. She is easily the most powerful member of the Erudite and hopes to become the leader of all the factions. Her plan is to overrun the Abnegation and forcing the Dauntless to betray them. Her first movement of action is to soil the Abnegation’s reputation and make the other faction lose faith in their leadership. Jeanine Matthews feels “fear is more powerful than pain” and uses everyone’s personals fears against. She designed the simulations consequently she has the list of each fear every person that has been in a simulation.
Tobias Eaton, Four, is the son of Evelyn and Marcus Eaton. HIs mother left Marcus after having an affair, he eventually falls victim to his father's cruelty and uncontrolled anger He is the instructor of the transfer initiates and is the love interest of Beatrice "Tris" Prior. During his time the fear landscape was the first thing initiates went through when they arrived at the Dauntless compound. During his fear landscape, Tobias had only four fears, the least amount of fears on record for a Dauntless initiate, therefore he was nicknamed Four. He ranked first by the end of the initiation, but declined the position of a Dauntless leader.
5 New or Unusual Words
The names and definitions of the Factions are necessary to understand the book. The name of the faction ultimately defines the characteristics of the people within the faction. Therefore, you can choose to learn the definition of the word or assume by the characters what each word means.
Abnegation – the sacrifice of personal needs for others or being selfless
Erudite - knowledgeable, well educated, or acquired intelligence.
Candor – forthright, openness, having no secrets, or outspoken.
Amity – friendliness, peace, having good relations or harmony
Dauntless – fearless, resolute, or determined.
Simulation – “He is Divergent. He can fight this simulation. Any simulation.” (477.) the technique of representing the real world by a computer program or hallucinations to make you believe a reality is something else.
Divergent – “people who get this kind of result are…. are called Divergent”(22.) to be different or develop in different directions
Similar Works
Divergent is similar to Uglies because of the way the government in both books are structured and their governments concealment of information. The leaders of Uglies hold very large amounts of information from the citizens. They conceal the fact that the cures they perform on people actually lead to brain damage and other diseases. While in Divergent the leaders are hold back the information that the serums are for mind control and used to make people the Erudite’s personal puppets. The Erudites as well the government in Uglies come to their downfall by a female leader unaware of their strengths and abilities.
Secondly, Divergent is similar to the Maze Runner series. It is in evident until the second book in the trilogy of Divergent but the factions were set up as a safe hope for the future because the outside humans had already fallen to war and mass terror. The Maze runner is about this group of highly intelligent kids set up as an experiment and the rest of the world are relying on them. The people who put them in the trials were scientists trying to find a cure for the rest of the world by putting these kids through a series of trials. There is a mass disease spreading across their outer world and they are testing whether specific brain reactions cause the disease to disappear. Divergent and the Maze Runner show the exile of humans to test their reactions and their actions for a greater purpose of the world.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/393976870